One of my potential assignments is to co-author an article for Christianity Todayabout the role that the American Church could play in the AIDS crisis, a curious and exciting assignment. I spent part of the afternoon researching the contribution that local African congregations are making to sustain their own communities in the wake of the death of hundreds of parents ; it is encouraging to imagine the impact the effect which the focused resources of American churches could have on the micro-scale efforts of these community efforts.